Imagine being severely visually impaired by the time you turn 50 years old. Unfortunately, this is a harsh reality for people who live in developing countries. This week we will recognize World Sight Day, an annual day of bringing awareness to blindness and vision impairment.

As American citizens, we are often unaware of just how much of a luxury accessible vision care is. The truth is, although visual impairment is common in developing countries, 80 percent of vision problems are avoidable, meaning readily treatable and/or preventable. At Readers.com, healthy eyesight is something we are passionate about, and we want to make you as informed as possible when making decisions related to your vision, as well as knowing the concerns facing those in developing countries.The International Association for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) brings us the following stats:

– 9 out of 10 people who are blind live in a developing country– An estimated 19 million children around the world are visually impaired– Approximately 285 million people worldwide live with low vision and blindness– Of these, 39 million people are blind and 246 million have moderate or severe visual impairment– 90% of blind people live in low-income countries– Restorations of sight, and blindness prevention strategies are among the most cost-effective interventions in health care– The number of people blind from infectious causes has majorly reduced in the past 20 years– About 65% of all people who are visually impaired are aged 50 and older– Increasing elderly populations in many countries mean that more people will be at risk of age-related visual impairment

We of course know the inconvenience of blurry eyesight, and recognize the difference a good pair of readers can make when it comes to proper vision. However, for many in developing countries, blurry eyesight is not merely an inconvenience, but it can get in the way of their livelihood as craftspeople. It is no question that a good pair of readers can make a difference, helping these people to sustain their income and support their families. For this reason, Readers.com has partnered with the charitable non-profit, Timmy Global Health. For every pair of The Timmy that we sell, we vow to donate an additional pair of reading glasses to one of the many communities Timmy Global Health serves in Latin America.